The Borgia Stick is a film that will really make you paranoid. Just who and how many people and groups could be surveilling any and all of us, including our own government. The title is a code phrase for use on the telephone.Don Murray and Inger Stevens are as a whitebread and All American a couple as you will find. They've got the whole suburban American dream existence other than the kids. But it's all a sham and their employer frowns on kids. In fact part of their employment stipulates no romantic involvement.They work for 'the company' the latest term for mafia, the syndicate which is now going into new forms of racketeering. They're buying into legitimate businesses and not just to launder money.But some indiscretion on Murray's part plus the fact that when two attractive people are thrown together there's a certain inevitable chemistry. These two had former lives and we see a really graphic depiction of what Stevens came from. The company has some really ambitious plans. In many ways The Borgia Stick anticipates the age of greed and Trump.Murray and Stevens get some fine support from such familiar folks in the cast like Kathleen Maguire, Sorrell Booke, Fritz Weaver, John Randolph, and Barry Nelson. Playwright Marc Connelly has a small part as one of the company men and he has a great scene with Stevens.One of the first made for TV films, The Borgia Stick holds up well after over 50 years.

It's amazing that this made-for-TV movie was so good - there's very little that was suspenseful - and the money laundering scenes were presented as suit-n-tie business dealings - altho the man was disguised - it just didn't seem that sinister - there are very few degenerates or gunplay - it's very suburban middle-class in tone and feelhowever - it proved memorable for me - i saw it when it was first broadcast in 1967 and it's haunted my memories since - i think i saw a rebroadcast some years later - but otherwise - it has only been rebroadcast in my mindfrankly - it was the thought of being in an arranged marriage to Inger Stevens that burned itself into my memory - while i've never been a huge fan of hers - she was so appealing in this film that the sensuous thought of it pulled me into the plotunlike much of today's TV fare - it's in bright color (color TV was just becoming wide spread in 1967) - and in the early 4:3 television aspect ratio - which probably accounts for the TV "look" that differs from big-screen movies and much of today's TV - and at this early stage of made-for-TV movies - they hadn't gotten into the habit of announcing every commercial break with the rise dramatic music cues and a cliff-hangerthis film is about characters and relationships - it follows the life of a young childless middle-class couple who live in a suburb of NYC - who are cozy with their next door neighbors who are child- filled - the husbands commute together to NYC together - but while the neighbor goes to his office - the younger man dons a disguise and visits banks with a briefcase full of cash - obviously for money laundering - though he does wind up at a small office in the city filled with toys and a solitary employeethen 23 minutes into the film - things change - between the couple - and to the couple - which brings them into collision with their crime syndicate bosses ("the company") - but things are handled by the company bosses with subtlety and finesse (a wonderful change from today's scripts) - with almost nothing of menacing thugs or dark dirty alleysthe good actors given a chance to show their stuff - Don Murray and Inger Stevens as the couple have great chemistry together - Barry Nelson as the neighbor has chemistry with them too - Fritz Weaver is at his best as a suave syndicate boss - but even the others with less screen time add wonderful color and texture to the weavethe story has nice twists - altho the background of the syndicate is presented in a hazy incoherent monologue - but overall this story is laid out in such a way as to make the mundane engrossing - ie they don't overdo the action for actions sake - in other words this is an intelligent script probably best appreciated by similar minded people

I was a young teenager when this movie came out and it was so magnificent that years later I named my pet horse Borgia Stick. When Borgia was born, I tried to find a poster of the movie to put on her birth announcement. I found a poster that was done in French, but not in English. I would love to see this movie again and have tried and tried to order it without success. This movie kept me at the edge of my seat! Don Murray and Inger Stevens were award winning actors to me. If anyone hears of this movie coming out, that would make my day. When I have mentioned the movie to my friends, no one remembers it. I am so happy to see so many people who are of my age group that enjoyed it!

Why oh why is this not available for purchase. It exceeds anyones' wildest idea of tension,mystery and drama. The concept of the everyday man being caught in a web of intrigue has been done may times but never better than this.The cast is superb and Fritz Weaver excels .Can someone find this movie and release for all to see. I only caught it one night many years ago by chance but the experience was without parallel.Surely who ever made this or owns the rights can see the untold gratitude of so many people to repeat their pleasure and for those who have not seen it to witness a taught story with incredible twists and turns,imitated since but never bettered.Don Murray and the late Inger Stevens portray sensitively and unbelievingly ,initially ,the couple caught in this Web and Barry Nelson contributes valiantly.Someone out there do your stuff